Apocalyptic sentimentalism : love and fear in U.S. antebellum literature / Kevin Pelletier.
2015
PS217.S55 P45 2015eb
Linked e-resources
Linked Resource
Online Access
Details
Title
Apocalyptic sentimentalism : love and fear in U.S. antebellum literature / Kevin Pelletier.
ISBN
9780820339481
9780820347738 (electronic book)
9780820347738 (electronic book)
Published
Athens : University of Georgia Press, [2015]
Copyright
©2015
Language
English
Description
1 online resource (271 pages) : illustrations
Call Number
PS217.S55 P45 2015eb
Dewey Decimal Classification
810.9/003
Summary
"In contrast to the prevailing scholarly con-sensus that understands sentimentality to be grounded on a logic of love and sympathy, Apocalyptic Sentimentalism demonstrates that in order for sentimentality to work as an antislavery engine, it needed to be linked to its seeming opposite--fear, especially the fear of God's wrath. Most antislavery reformers recognized that calls for love and sympathy or the representation of suffering slaves would not lead an audience to "feel right" or to actively oppose slavery. The threat of God's apocalyptic vengeance--and the terror that this threat inspired--functioned within the tradition of abolitionist sentimentality as a necessary goad for sympathy and love. Fear,then, was at the center of nineteenth-century sentimental strategies for inciting antislavery reform, bolstering love when love faltered, and operating as a powerful mechanism for establishing interracial sympathy. Depictions of God's apocalyptic vengeance constituted the most efficient strategy for antislavery writers to generate a sense of terror in their audience. Focusing on a range of important anti-slavery figures, including David Walker, Nat Turner, Maria Stewart, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and John Brown, Apocalyptic Sentimentalism illustrates how antislavery discourse worked to redefine violence and vengeance as the ultimate expression (rather than denial) of love and sympathy. At the sametime, these warnings of apocalyptic retribution enabled antislavery writers to express, albeit indirectly, fantasies of brutal violence against slaveholders. What began as a sentimental strategy quickly became an incendiary gesture, with antislavery reformers envisioning the complete annihilation of slaveholders and defenders of slavery"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description
Description based on print version record.
Available in Other Form
Apocalyptic sentimentalism : love and fear in U.S. antebellum literature.
Linked Resources
Online Access
Record Appears in
Online Resources > Ebooks
All Resources
All Resources